So, how are those New Year’s resolutions coming?

Yeah. Me too. I think I actually gained two pounds. 😭 We had such good intentions, didn’t we?

More often than not, that’s how the story goes:

• Set an ambitious goal.
• Work like hell to accomplish it.
• Exhaust yourself.
• Bail.
• Eat a tub of cookie dough.

Okay, maybe that last part was just my response.

But what if there was another way? A way that’s more effective, less exhausting, and—most importantly—more human?

It’s completely normal to try to establish streaks of good behavior—whether you’re adding a new healthy habit or trying to cut out a less healthy one. We aim to stack good days in a row, believing that the longer the streak, the more motivated we’ll be to keep it going.

And in some ways, that’s true. It is energizing to see a long row of checkmarks on your calendar. But it can also become an albatross.

Here’s what tends to happen when we approach change this way:

1. Our motivation shifts from the original goal to keeping the streak alive.
2. And more importantly—what happens when we’re no longer perfect?

We’ve all felt the misery of breaking a perfect streak. That disappointment can overshadow all the progress we’ve made.

But here’s the thing:

The most important day isn’t the last day we were perfect. The most important day is the day after perfect.

How do you respond?

This is where we have to return to our intentions. What was the point of the behavior change? Was the goal to build an unbroken streak, or to create a healthier, more sustainable life?

In reality, no one cares how long you can perfectly execute a habit. There’s no prize at the end. So unless you’re going for a Guinness World Record, missing a day has almost no real consequences in the grand scheme of things.

So, how do we move forward once we’re no longer perfect? Try these two simple shifts:

1. Look backward, not forward. Streaks focus on the future. When one ends, don’t dwell on how far you have to go—look back at how far you’ve come. You don’t have to start over. You pick up right where you left off.
2. Don’t have two bad days in a row. That’s it. If you slipped up today, no problem. A new game starts now. Don’t let the end of a healthy streak be the start of an unhealthy one.

The day after you’re no longer perfect is the perfect chance to begin again.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch